Surgical stockings



Aug. 9; 1960 J. GIFT SURGICAL STOCKINGS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Oct. 20, 1955 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.S..

Aug. 9, 1960 J. GIFT SURGICAL STOCKINGS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Oct. 20, 1955 INVEN'TgL' BY ATTORNEYS.

nited States Patent Ofiice 2,948,132 Patented Aug. 9, 1960 SURGICAL STOCKINGS John Gift, Greensboro, N.C., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Kayser-Roth Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York I Division of application Ser. No. 561,758, Jan. 27, 1956. Continuation of application Ser. No. 541,556, Oct. 20, 1955. This application June 13, 1957, Ser. No. 666,801

Claims. (c1. 66-178) This invention relates to surgical stockings, particularly to full length surgical stockings intended to be worn by women.

The chief aim of my invention is to provide a surgical stocking of the kind referred to which is light in weight as compared to those heretofore generally produced; which is comparable in sheerness and in appearance with ordinary stocking; which yields to longitudinal stretch within prescribed limits so as to conform. neatly and smoothly to the leg of the wearers; which has asofter hand or feel than surgical stockings heretofore produced; which has improved perspiration removal qualities; and of which the constraining influence upon the leg is gentle yet effective for therapeutic purposes without causing physical discomfort to the wearer.

Other objects and attendant advantages will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the front of a full-fashioned surgical stocking conveniently embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the back of the stocking.

Fig. 3 shows the flat knitted blank from which the stocking of Figs. 1 and 2 is formed.

Figs. 4 and 5 are larger scale diagrammatic views showing the construction of the welt fabric and the leg fabric of the stocking, respectively, within the confines of the broken line rectangles IV and V in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a view corresponding to Fig. 5 but showing the fabric in stretched condition.

As herein exemplified, my improved surgical stocking preferably resembles, in appearance, an ordinary full fashioned stocking having a closed welt W at the top, a shaped leg portion L, afoot F with a miter-sutured heel pocket P, a closed toe T, and a seam S extending longitudinally of the back from the top through the leg and the foot bottom to the toe tip, the stocking being formed from a flat-knitted fashioned selvaged blank such as shown in Fig. 3.

In accordance with my invention, the leg and instep fabric of the stocking blank is knitted, as conventionally shown in Fig. 5, with courses C of covered rubber yarn 5, in alternation with courses C in which. loops L of a pre-set torsioned polyamide stretch yarn 6 of nylon or the like, such as Helanca" yarn, are doubled with loops L of a plain untorsioned polyamide yarn of nylon or the like and interlooped with the loops L of the yarn 5 in the courses C. For convenience of ready distinction from the plain yarn 7, the stretch yarn.6 has been speckled in the drawings. In the knitting, the loops of the yarn 5 in the courses C and those of the yarns 6 and 7 in the courses C are all drawn to a predetermined size by the needles of the producing machine, and the stretch yarn 6 is fed under relatively heavy tension while the rubber yarn 5 and the plain yarn 7 are fed under relatively light tension. In subsequent relaxing of the fabric, the loops L of the rubber yarn 5 and the loops of the stretch yarn 6 contract, as diagrammatically shown in Fig. 5, while the loops of the non-elastic yarn 7 remain as originally formed. Because the stretch yarn 6 is fed underrelatively heavy tension, the extent to which it can contract in the finished fabric will be relatively small and, unlike the rubber yarn, in the finished fabric it will have only a limited stretch capacity as compared to its overall stretchability. Thus as the stocking is drawn over the leg the loops L of the rubber yarn 5 will yield to being stretched within the limits imposed by the loops L and L of the stretch yarn 6 and the non-elastic yarn 7, as shown in Fig. 6. The. Welt top W, the heel pocket P and the toe T of the stocking blank are knitted, as conventionally shown in Fig. 4, from a pre-set torsioned polyamide yarn 8 alone.

As represented in Figs. 5 and 6, the yarns 6 and 7 used in the leg and instep portions of the blank are of a denier such that their combined thicknesses (with the stretch yarn fully stretched, of course) substantially aggregate the thickness of the unstretched covered rubber yarn 5. Furthermore, and as diagrammatically represented in Fig. 4, the stretch yarn 8 used in the welt W, in the heel halves P and in the toe T of the blank when fully stretched is of a thickness substantially equal to that of the unstretched covered rubber yarn 5 in Fig. 5.

In the production of the stocking blank upon a straight knitting machine of the Cotton type, the yarns 6 and 7 for the alternate courses of the leg and instep fabric are fed to the needles through the eye of a single carrier, and the covered rubber yarn 5 is fed by a separate carrier, while the yarn 8 used in the welt, the heel pocket halves P and the toe T is fed by a third carrier. Uniformity in the appearance of the fabric results from the choice of yarns proportioned in thickness as above described. In actual practice, a highly satisfactory commercial therapeutic stocking is produced, in accordance with my invention, by use of a number 20 covered rubber yarn 5, a stretch yarn 6 of denier Helanca and a plain yarn 7 of 30 denier nylon in the leg and instep, and a stretch yarn of denier Helanca in the welt, heel and toe. The stocking is finished for the market in the same manner as ordinary nylon stockings by dyeing and by heat treatment while mounted on a shaping form.

By virtue of having a miter pocket heel, the foot of the stocking is effectively held to the foot of the wearer, and the leg portion thereby relieved of any longitudinal strains such as would cause it to be stretched from the toe end or displaced as the stocking is being worn. By incorporating a stretch yarn 6 such as Helanca in the leg and instep portions of the stocking, in alternate courses as shown and described, improvements in both the feel of the fabric and in its perspiration removal qualities will be realized. Although the stretch yarn 6 .and the plain yarn 7 in the alternate courses C set a limit on the stretch of the fabric, it is not to the extent of preventing easy drawing of the stocking over the leg of the wearer and allows the covered rubber yarn 5 to contract upon the leg and the foot of the wearer after the stocking is once in place, as previously explained. The constrictive effect of the stretch yarn 8 in the Welt W is less than that of the rubber yarn, and just suflicient in degree to hold the welt smoothly in place. This is likewise true of the stretch yarn in the heel and toe so that a close fit of the foot F is assured without cramping and discomfort to the wearer.

While for the purposes of exemplification herein, I have shown and described my invention as embodied in a full fashioned stocking, it is not to be regarded as so limited since, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the knitting arts, it can be embodied in a seamless stocking without sacrifice of any of the advantages hereinbefore pointed out.

This application is a continuation of my co-pending application Serial No. 541,556, filed October 20, 1955, now abandoned, and a division of the disclosure of my co-pending application Serial No. 561,758, filed January 27, 1956, also now abandoned.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. As a new product of manufacture, a surgical stocking of knitted fabric having courses of covered rubber yarn in alternation with courses in which loops of a plain thermoplastic yarn are doubled with loops of a preset torsioned thermoplastic stretch yarn.

2. A surgical stocking according to claim 1 wherein the stretch yarn is substantially fully stretched in the relaxed fabric.

3. A surgical stocking according to claim 1, wherein the thicknesses of the plain yarn and the torsioned stretch yarn together substantially aggregate the thickness of the covered rubber yarn.

4. As a new product of manufacture, a surgical stocking of knitted fabric having courses of covered rubber yarn in alternation with courses in which loops of a plain polyamide yarn are doubled with loops of a pre-set torsioned thermoplastic stretch yarn; and heel and toe portions knitted from pre-set torsioned thermoplastic stretch yarn alone.

5. A surgical stocking according to claim 4 wherein the stretch yarn is substantially fully stretched in the relaxed fabric.

6. A surgical stocking according to claim 4,. wherein the thicknesses of the plain and the stretch yarns used in alternate courses together substantially aggregate the A thickness of the covered rubber yarn; and wherein the stretched yarn used in the heel and toe is of a thickness substantially equal to that of the covered rubber yarn.

7. A surgical stocking according to claim 4, wherein the heel is in the form of the miter-sutured pocket.

8. A full length surgical stocking according to claim 4, formed from a fiat fashioned blank with a closed welt at the top knitted throughout from a pre-set torsioned polyamide stretch yarn.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a full length surgical stocking having a closed top welt, a legportion, and afoot with a heel pocketv of the miter-sutured type, and a closed toe, the leg and 'instep fabric being formed by coursesof covered rubber yarn in alternation with courses in which loops of plain thermoplastic yarn are doubled with loops of a pre-set torsioned thermoplastic stretch yarn, the welt top, the heel pocket and the toe tip being knitted throughout from pre-settorsioned thermoplastic stretch yarn, the thickness of the yarns used in the double 106p alternate courses of the leg and instep together substantially aggregating the thickness of the covered rubber yarn, and. the yarn used in the welt and.

in the heel and toe portions being of a thickness substanti'a'lly equal to that of s'aid'covered rubber yarn.

10. A surgical stocking according to claim 7 wherein the stretched yarn is substantially fully stretched in the relaxed fabric.

References Cited'in the file-0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

